A Walk Around the Lake
by hebmit
Summary: Harry comes to terms with his feelings for Ginny during a walk.


A/N: A bit o' fluff. Sixth year, after OotP. 

* * * 

Harry Potter walked along the lake outside of Hogwarts. It was a beautiful, warm spring evening, with the moon reflecting off the mirror surface of the lake. The stars sparkled in a cloudless night sky, bringing a perfect peace to the scene. 

Yet Harry was not at peace. It wasn't Voldemort that bothered him, who had been quiet for some time. It was not his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, who had been dating for a few months, and were actually making an effort not to bicker. 

Harry stole a glance at the reason for his nervousness. A certain redhead was walking companionably along with him, drinking in the fresh night air. The moonlight reflected off her hair, giving it a sparkling, fiery quality. He quickly darted his eyes back. 

He had first begun to notice Ginny Weasley at Quidditch practice. He found himself impressed by her talented flying — and distracted by her red ponytail flying in the wind as she flew about the pitch. Without even realizing what he was doing, he found himself walking her to and from Quidditch practice and looking forward to the time he spent with her. 

"It's a beautiful evening tonight, isn't it?" Ginny said, startling Harry out of his reverie. 

Harry smiled at her. "Yes, it is," _and so are you, _he thought to himself. Ginny smiled back, and they continued walking. 

_"Don't be a coward,"_ he thought. He wanted to take her hand, but he was unsure of Ginny's feelings. He knew that she'd had a crush on him in the past, but Hermione had said that she was over it. And he hadn't exactly paid a lot of attention to her during that time. Harry sighed silently to himself, wondering if he had blown his chance. Is this what she had felt all those years? 

She had been so good for him this year. She had lent an ear to him as he worked through his feelings of losing Sirius, and his fears that more of his friends would die because of him. Ron and Hermione were still important to him, but they couldn't really understand. Only Ginny, with her experiences with Tom Riddle and the Chamber of Secrets really knew how it felt. How it felt to be responsible for others getting hurt. How it felt to really fight a personal battle with evil. 

He thought that he had helped her, too. He finally worked up the nerve to ask her about what happened in her first year a month ago. She was reluctant to talk at first, but eventually she told him her story. It was late at night in the common room, a warm fire burning in the fireplace. She stared at the fire as she told of her fears and her nightmares that still occurred. At the end, with tears streaming down her face, he had simply held her in comfort. It was at that point that he started to realize his feelings had grown deeper than he ever thought possible. 

Harry heard an owl hooting overhead. _That's as good a sign as any_, he thought. Bracing himself for the worst, without looking at Ginny, he reached out and lightly took her hand. 

He felt Ginny start in surprise, and felt her head turn toward him. She quickly turned away, but did not pull her hand back. He felt her hand tentatively grip his back with the same light touch. 

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. _But it doesn't really mean anything, does it?_ He thought miserably. _What if she is just trying not to be rude?_

They continued walking, but Harry could feel the tension between them. Suddenly the evening had ceased to be companionable, and turned into something else he couldn't identify. His stomach was doing flip-flops, worse than he had ever had with Cho. 

He considered the evidence of whether she had any feelings for him. She never stuttered or was awkward with him the way she had been during her first three years. She seemed to enjoy his company, but that proved nothing about any stronger feelings. The only thing he had to go on was Hermione's advice. 

Hermione had caught him. They had all been doing homework one night a week ago in the common room. Harry was tired, and was staring into the fire when he noticed Ginny sitting next to the fire doing her homework. Without realizing, he found himself staring at her, watching the firelight dance on her face and hair. Suddenly feeling eyes on him, he turned and found Hermione giving him a strange look. He looked down, but not before seeing her break into a grin. He burned with embarrassment, which only confirmed her suspicions. 

Hermione trapped him a few nights later. "Harry, I want to talk to you about something," she said. 

"Er, what?" he said suspiciously. He feared that she was going to bring up the subject that he really didn't want to deal with. 

"Well, Ginny and you. And don't bother to deny it," as Harry was preparing to do just that. 

Harry stammered, "I, uh, well, there's nothing really to talk about, is there?" 

Hermione just smiled. "I think there is. Harry, listen. Don't do what Ron and I did, and dance around for years. With things the way they are, we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Normally I would not interfere and just let things like this work itself out naturally, but this is a time of war. Please don't wait. You, especially you, need all the love and support you can get." 

Harry looked down. "All right, I won't deny it. But she's over me, isn't she? You said it yourself. I blew my chance," he said somewhat bitterly. 

"Harry, I don't know what's in Ginny's heart. She did try and get over you, when she thought you would never return her feelings. But Harry, she isn't dating anyone right now. Don't underestimate her fear of having feelings for you that won't be returned. But I think that you need to take a risk — for both of you." 

Harry's reflections were interrupted when he abruptly tripped on a tree root, causing himself to fall to the ground. Ginny looked startled, and then giggled at him. He chuckled, got up, and brushed himself off. He took Ginny's hand again, and found that much of the tension had been released. 

During the evening meal, he had made his decision. He had noticed Ginny across the room talking to some students of her own class. Her laughter and chattiness mesmerized him, and he walked over to her. Her eyes turned toward him, still mirthful, and he asked her if she would like a walk around the lake with him. She seemed slightly surprised. He had never asked her before, but she smiled and said yes. 

They approached the half-way point of the lake. Harry gathered all his Gryffindor courage. 

"Ginny? Would you like to, uh, sit for a minute?" 

Ginny got a fearful look and Harry's heart dropped to his knees. But she gave a shy smile and said quietly, "Okay." 

They sat down together, inches apart. They gazed over the lake where the trees from the opposite bank reflected in the moonlight. Harry was suddenly at a loss for words. He hadn't really considered exactly what he was going to do once he got her out here. He only knew that he wanted her to know how he felt. Then he found the words he needed to say. 

"Thank you," he said quietly, without looking at her. 

Ginny looked over at him. "For what?" 

"For everything, this year. It was very hard for me over the summer, and talking to you this year has helped me more than you can know." He still couldn't look at her. He feared that if he looked at her, he wouldn't be able to speak. 

Ginny nodded, and looked back to the lake. 

Harry finally turned, and planted a light kiss on her cheek, letting it linger for several seconds. He abruptly turned away, in miserable fear of what he had done. _Now I've done it. Now she'll tell me that she only wants to be friends. And I've probably messed that up._

Ginny gazed down at her feet, looking frightened and almost sad. "Harry. I-I don't know what to think." 

Hermione's words came back to Harry. "_Don't underestimate her fear of having feelings for you that won't be returned._" Harry realized that he needed to give her a lot more. But he didn't have words for how he felt. _I love you. _Those were the words, but was it really how he felt? He couldn't imagine having feelings as deep for anyone else. 

He turned toward her and looked into her chocolate brown eyes. "Ginny, I've been such a prat for so long. I never really saw you before. And this year you've become someone very important to me." 

Harry reached out and stroked her hair. Ginny closed her eyes and leaned her head into his hand. "You're so beautiful, Ginny." Her breath caught as he said the words, and he thought he saw the beginnings of a tear in her eye. _Why is she crying? _he thought anxiously. 

Ginny opened her eyes. She whispered, "Harry, I loved you for so long. Please don't say these things unless you mean them. I couldn't stand it if you changed your mind later." 

Harry felt his stomach flutter as he heard the word "love." Suddenly he knew that he could never change his mind, that Ginny was the only girl he could ever love with all his heart. 

He slowly leaned over and touched his lips to hers. The world seemed to fall away, as his whole being seemed to sink into her. His hand stroked her soft hair, and he brought his other arm around her, stroking her back. He deepened the kiss, and Ginny's hands slowly came up over his shoulders. 

They broke away, and Harry gazed into her eyes. He smiled at her reassuringly, and she smiled back. "I love you," he breathed. 

Ginny's smile faltered a bit, and she swallowed. There was a long pause, as she seemed to struggle with herself about what to say. Harry felt a moment of panic. If she didn't say something quickly, he might fall apart. She took a deep breath, and her face lit up in a brilliant smile. "Harry, I love you, too. I've always loved you." 

He kissed her again, and knew in his heart that she would always be by his side, that her love gave him a reason to live. If the prophecy said that it was his destiny to defeat Voldemort, then by God he would do it. 

For her. 

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Thanks to all who review! 


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